Was just thinking of him the other day. Did he just vanish?!
He was ill earlier in the season (respiratory infection), and missed the TA.
Porte and Quintana are the two most interesting riders in the TDF - Both have experienced anonymous seasons so there performance will be noted - The tricky first week will have an impact on GC, though Porte should pick up time in the 35km TTT - The rider who most interests me is Roglic - He has all the attributes to be a serious GC rider and he’s in a rich vein of form.
MS team for Hammer Limburg is Ewan,Mezgec, Hayman, Hepburn, Kluge, Durbridge and Bauer - A top 5 result will be good - Expect 5 of this team to ride the TDF and add A.Yates, Impey and Howson.
Ben O’Connor extends with Dimension Data.
Ah - He’s one I wanted at Mitchelton Scott - Ben’s a brave person if he thinks he’ll be well developed at DD.
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Sky team for Criterium du Dauphine
Castrovejo, Geoghegan Hart, Kiwatkowski, Moscon, Rowe, Geraint Thomas, Van Baarle
Event underway on Sunday - does SBS have coverage again?
Yup. Viceland & streaming on Cycling Central.
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Australian James Whelan signs to ride WT win EF Drapac / Cannodale.
https://twitter.com/Ride_Argyle/status/1002406672550096896
When will they ever learn?
BMC Tour De Suissse Team is Strong
Tour de Suisse start list (provisional)
BMC Racing
11 PORTE Richie
12 GERRANS Simon
13 KÜNG Stefan
14 DENNIS Rohan
15 SCHAR Michael
16 VAN AVERMAET Greg
17 VAN GARDEREN Tejay
Mitchelton-Scott
21 ALBASINI Michael
22 BAUER Jack
23 DURBRIDGE Luke
24 EDMONDSON Alexander
25 HAIG Jack
26 HAYMAN Mathew
27 KREUZIGER Roman
Team Sunweb
31 KELDERMAN Wilco
32 GESCHKE Simon
33 KÄMNA Lennard
34 ARNDT Nikias
35 ANDERSEN Søren Kragh
36 MATTHEWS Michael
37 THEUNS Edward
Astana
51 FUGLSANG Jakob
52 FRAILE Omar
53 GATTO Oscar
54 GRUZDEV Dmitriy
55 HANSEN Jesper
56 CORT NIELSEN Magnus
57 ZAKHAROV Artyom
Team Sky
161 HENAO Sergio Luis
162 DOULL Owain
163 GEOGHEGAN HART Tao
164 HENAO Sebastián
165 DEIGNAN Philip
166 LOPEZ David
167 ROSA Diego
Movistar
111 QUINTANA Nairo
112 BENNATI Daniele
113 LANDA Mikel
114 OLIVEIRA Nelson
115 AMADOR Andrey
116 ROJAS José Joaquín
117 VALVERDE Alejandro
Sprinters - Griepel, Sagan, Gaviria
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I think Tour De Suisse field is stronger than Criterium du Dauphine
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It’s certainly argueable.
The Dauphine seems to be a particularly tough one this year, so perhaps GC riders are looking for a slightly easier lead in to the TdF.
Edmondson has been switched to the Dauphine - Agree with Barry that the Dauphine route is the toughest for several years - It’s actually like a normal Tour De Suisse route. MS expect at least a podium from A.Yates at the Dauphine, while Haig is the leader at Suisse, though he will hardly be in top shape after his exploits at the Giro.
James Whelan is an interesting rider - Is in his second year as a semi-pro and somehow won the under 23’s Flanders in his first ride in Europe - He actually contacted the under 23 selectors to ask if he could race and paid his own way and got support from Gerry Ryan who is part funding the under 23’s - he’s doing the same in June and July - He was never going to MS as Stannard ( the same type of rider ) is signed for 2019.
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Kwiatkowski wins the prologue at Criterium du Daphanie
Thomas over cooks the corner and crashes
Haig to lead MS at Tour de Suisse, reward for a massive early season.
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Thomas still only 20 seconds behind despite crash, similar to other GC contenders like Yates, Bardet and Nibali.
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Interesting.
TORY OF THE DAY: FORMULA 1-STYLE GRID POSITIONS FOR TDF STAGE 17
Stage 17 of the Tour de France was already going to be a must-watch. At 65km long, it’ll be the Tour’s shortest road stage in 30 years, and given its sawtooth profile — three climbs and two descents — it’s sure to be a fierce battle. It turns out the ASO has added another element to the stage which will make it even more interesting.
Rather than a traditional mass start, stage 17 will see riders set off in waves, according to their GC position, much like in Formula 1 or cyclocross. The top 20 riders in GC will set off first, then the next 20, and so on through the field.
ASO will experiment with new start formula on stage 17 this year. The short stage will start at the foot of the Peyresourde. Riders will line up at the start according to GC position, like Cyclocross or F1
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Will benefit the teams with a multiple of riders in contention. I won’t be missing that stage.
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How weird.
I’ve sometimes wondered why on TT days they don’t just cut it to the top 30 on GC and send the rest to do something else, ITT’s seem like a huge waste of time.
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Its a great spectacle for the fans. The chance to see all riders and follow the day instead of the customary 20 second buzz as the peleton speeds past…
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What kind of fans ? - I find TT’s to be boring when watching on TV - The new start for the TDF - Think it may cause chaos because many will see it as a breakaway day - So these guys who will start of the back of the peleton will be racing up the peleton, while GC guys will want a more controlled start so there is bound to be chaos.
I doubt that MS have done Haig many favours - It’s tough backing up from the Giro, you have a loaded GC field and their is a long ITT in which Haig still struggles - Would have been better for Haig to rest and then do races lice the Tour of Poland, Eneco Tour etc - Hope that Haig misses the Vuelta and focuses on GC at a GT in 2018.
By the way, Chaves was team leader at the Giro and S.Yates was a protected rider and to win stage/s - This is why there has been much transfer interest in S .Yates and of course he’s a highly talented rider.
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Do they know what the problem is with Chaves?